Cook Islands

Updates:

I added the population data from the 2011 census.

Peter Dotzauer sent a reference to the Lonely Planet travel book for Rarotonga: "... each outer
island has a resident-elected/appointed island council presided over by a mayor.... On Rarotonga,
island councils are replaced by vaka (district, tribe) councils, one in each of the three
traditional vaka." The councils of Rarotonga are Puaikura, Takitumu, and Te Au O Tonga (map).
His message impelled me to do some more research, with these results.

The Rarotonga Local Government (Repeal) Bill, abolishing the three vaka councils of
Rarotonga, took effect on 2008-02-08. See, for example, this
report.

Mr. Dotzauer believes that the island councils are divided into districts, and the districts into
subdistricts called "tapere"; and that Manuae, Nassau, and Suwarrow have no island councils of
their own but are governed from the nearest larger island. There is a
blog
entry that lists five districts and fifty tapere for Rarotonga,
and the maps linked from here
show eight districts and 19 tapere on Aitutaki, six districts on Mangaia, and five tapere on Atiu.
I have a 1978 map that shows five districts of Rarotonga: Arorangi, Avarua, Matavera, Ngatangiia,
and Titikaveka, where Arorangi matches Puaikura in extent, Avarua matches Te Au O Tonga, and the
other three combined match Takitumu.

According to the book
"South Pacific islands legal systems",
by Michael A. Ntumy, the Outer Islands Local Government Act 1988 created island councils on all
the islands except Nassau, Pukapuka, and Rarotonga. The Rarotonga Local Government Act 1988
created an island council and nine district councils for Rarotonga. However, the same book speaks
of island councils during earlier periods, as far back as 1915. The
Cook Islands Initial National
Communication under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change says, "A system of local government for Rarotonga was
reactivated in 1997 with the passage of the Rarotonga Local Government Act. The first elections
for Mayors and Councillors took place in November 1998."

Country overview:

Short name

COOK ISLANDS

ISO code

CK

FIPS code

CW

Language

English (en)

Time zone

-10

Capital

Avarua

On 1901-06-11, the Cook Islands changed from a British protectorate to an integral part of New
Zealand. On 1965-08-04, they became an autonomous state in free association with New Zealand.
This means that New Zealand retains some responsibility for them. In particular, it handles their
foreign relations.

Other names of country:

Dutch: Cookeilanden

French: ╬les fp Cook

German: Cookinseln f

Icelandic: Cookeyjar

Italian: Isole fp Cook

Norwegian: Cook°yene (Bokmňl), Cook°yane (Nynorsk), Cooks °yer

Portuguese: Ilhas Cook

Russian: Острова Кука

Spanish: Islas fp Cook

Turkish: Cook adaları

Origin of name:

Discovered by Capt. James Cook (1728-1779) in 1773

Primary subdivisions:

The administrative divisions of Cook Islands are deprecated herein, pending further research.

Division

HASC

Population

Area(km.²)

Area(mi.²)

Capital

Cook Islands

CK.CK

17,794

293

113

Avarua

Status: This division is the whole of the country,treated as a division for compatibility.

Territorial extent:

Cook Islands includes the Pacific islands in the rectangle defined by roughly 7░ to 23░ latitude
south, and 156░ to 167░ longitude west. These islands can be divided into a northern group and a
southern group. The northern group includes Manihiki, Nassau, Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Rakahanga, and
Suwarrow Islands. The southern group includes Aitutaki, Atiu, Mangaia, Manuae, Mauke, Mitiaro, and
Rarotonga Islands. Palmerston Atoll, which is relatively isolated, has sometimes been classed with
either group; the census currently puts it in the southern group. Avarua, the capital, is located
on Rarotonga Island.

Population history:

The Cook Islands Statistics Office has provided a table
of historical census data, by island. There is no indication that the islands should be considered
as administrative divisions.